Chapter A3
Energy in Ecosystems
Lesson 1: What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is all living and nonliving things in an environment and how they interact. An ecosystem can be as large as a forest or as small as a drop of water.
There are living and nonliving parts of every ecosystem.
The parts of an ecosystem.
Living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem depend on one another.
Living parts like plants and animals help each other. Plants, such as trees, provide shelter for animals.
Activities of certain animals, like squirrels and birds, help spread the seeds to the plants so they can germinate.
Nonliving parts of an ecosystem, like the wind, also help spread seeds as well.
The parts of an ecosystem
Rocks, soil, water, and sunlight are nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
Living things depend on soil, water, and sunlight to survive.
Every part of an ecosystem affects another part of an ecosystem both positively and negatively.
Fires, weather, and other disturbances and factors in an ecosystem will also affect both living and nonliving parts.
The Earth is a Biosphere.
A Biome is a region on Earth
An Ecosystem is a part of a Biome
Make an Ecosystem
Pick a Biome on Earth
Draw an ecosystem that would be found within that biome.
Label the different living and nonliving things found within the ecosystem.
Habitats
A habitat is a place where a plant or animal lives. A habitat will have everything that animal needs to survive such as:
A habitat is a part�of an Ecosystem.
Refer to your drawing. �Find a Habitat within the ecosystem you drew.
Take NOTES!
Lesson 2: How do Plants get Energy?
Photosynthesis: The process by which plants produces sugar and oxygen from carbon dioxide, sun, and water.
Chlorophyll: a green substance in the plant that traps light energy from the sun. It’s what gives plants their green color.
Photosynthesis
Plants need sunlight, water, and air to survive. This is because they soak up the sunlight, water, and the gas called carbon dioxide. In return the chlorophyll in the plant changes the sun’s energy into sugar so the plant can carry out its everyday functions. ��(plant cell activity)
Plants are Producers
Plants are different from all other living things because they make their own food.
Because of the fact that they make their own sugar, they are referred to as Producers.
Lesson 3: How do living things get energy?
All living things need energy to survive. That energy comes from the sun. Plants get all the energy they need from trapping light from the sun. That’s why they are producers.
Animals are different because they cannot produce their own food. They must consume in order to get energy. That is why they are called consumers.
Food Web Activity
Herbivores
Not all animals consume the same kind �of foods.
Herbivores eat only plants.
Examples: rabbits, squirrels, deer, sheep,�cows, zebra, giraffe
These animals get all the energy they need from eating either leafy plants, grass, or seeds and nuts.
Carnivore
(Carne = Meat)
Carnivores eat only animals, no plants.
Examples: spider (eats insects), Owl (eats mice, rabbits, rats), lions, tigers, wolves
They get energy from the sun through eating the animals who get energy from the plants.
Omnivores
Omni means both. (Think OMMMM NOOMMMM! THEY EAT EVERYTHING!)
Omnivores eat both plants and animals.
Examples: �flying squirrel (eat nuts, seeds, insects, spiders)�Crow (hunt for spiders, small birds, dead animals, corn, wheat)�raccoons, skunks, rats, pigs, lizards, turtles
Scavengers
When plants and animals die, there is still energy stored in them. Animals who eat other dead animals are called scavengers.
Example: Vultures
Some carnivores will also scavenge �for food as well if given the �chance
Decomposers
Other living things that get energy from dead plants and animals are some worms and fungi. These are called decomposers because they break down the bodies of dead plants and animals into minerals and nutrients.
Decomposers help plants grow because they put nutrients back into the soil to help plants grow.
Decomposers are also helpful to farmers and gardeners because they can break down piles of leaves, plants, and manure into compost. Compost is a natural fertilizer. Farmers mix compost into soil. Since compost is rich in minerals and nutrients, it helps plants grow.
Decomposers and Composting
Lesson 4: Food Chains and Food Webs
Energy is important to the survival of every organism (living thing). Sunlight is a source of energy to all plants. The energy is stored in the plants and then passed on to consumers through a food chain.
Predators and Prey
Carnivores, such as lions and wolves, are predators. They get the energy they need to survive by hunting and killing prey.
prey
prey and
predator
predator
Food Webs
An ecosystem has many food chains. All the food chains that are connected in an ecosystem make up a food web. Some organisms are part of more than one food chain.
Food Web
Changes in Food Webs
Animals within a food web depend�on each other for survival.
Anything that changes the size of �a population of organisms affects the food web. For instance, weather can affect a food web. Storms damage plants and sometimes cause fires.
When plants are destroyed by storms, herbivores cannot find food as easily as before. They must move to other areas to find food or else they will die. If the plant eating animals move to another area, the carnivores must follow or else they will have no food.
Changes in Food Web
Storms and population size are not the only things that can cause changes.
Sometimes people can cause a change in the food web.
For example, if pesticides (harmful chemicals used to kill harmful insects) are sprayed in a certain area, but they sometimes kill non-harmful animals as well.
Changes in Food Webs
Another way that people can affect food webs are through pollution. Dumping waste in oceans and rivers is harmful to animals that live there. Animals that drink and eat from polluted water are harmed. Fish that swim in polluted water may die.
Overfishing also causes change in the� food web. Fish that get caught by �fishers make it hard for larger �predator fish to find prey.
Changes in Food Web
Deforestation, or the clearing of large areas of trees, causes interruption in food webs.
Insects, birds, and monkeys rely on trees for food and shelter.
How People Can Help
People are trying to help animals that are affected by loss of their habitat by caring for animals that have been impacted and placing them back into the environment.
For example, on a monarch butterfly farm in California, children may learn how to attract butterflies with their favorite foods. The children also learn how to find butterfly eggs and keep them safe. Once the eggs turn into caterpillars, the children feed them milkweed leaves. When the caterpillars become butterflies, they are released. They goal is to increase the monarch population.
Create an Environmental Campaign
You are going to pick one environmental issue to campaign against.
You can speak out against this issue in any way you please. You can choose to:
-write a letter to a law maker
-create a song or poem
-put together a skit
-make a poster...etc.
Brainstorming Environmental Issues